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closeCity applies for Port of Tacoma grant to help fund Jerisich Dock float
Port has budget of $50,000; city requests $284,000
Nate Hulings
of the Gateway
The idea of dinner cruises docking in Gig Harbor and water shuttles between the Maritime City and Tacoma may not have financial funding in the city’s 2010 budget, but that isn’t stopping them from trying to find alternatives.
Gig Harbor has requested $284,000 in grant funding from the Port of Tacoma to construct a float extension at the end of Jerisich Dock, with the belief that the end result would provide better access for regional water transportation and more business for the city, Mayor Chuck Hunter said.
“What extending the float would amount to is a fairly economical way to accommodate both pleasure boats, and if they wanted to come in, commercial-like boats,” Hunter said.
The float, proposed at 70 feet, also would provide an economic boost to downtown businesses and water access for those who do not have personal boats, Hunter said.
It appears unlikely that the city would receive a fully funded grant from the Port of Tacoma, however, because a spokesperson said grant money is pretty slim.
For 2010, only $50,000 has been budgeted for partnership projects — the same figure the commission wound up with last year after revenues sank significantly, Port spokespersom Tara Mattina said.
“Let’s hope they’ve got more flexibility than that,” said Lita Dawn Stanton, Gig Harbor’s historical preservation coordinator.
Stanton, who wrote the float grant, said many grants have extensive conditions that make it hard to find funding for commercial projects, such as a float for Jerisich Dock.
Besides the Port of Tacoma grant, Stanton said she’s unaware of any other funding sources for the project.
The Port had received four funding requests for this quarter as of mid January, and a decision could take months. The Tacoma Port Commission has the authority to increase the amount it awards each year, so it could consider funding a request either in whole or partially, Mattina said.
The Port Commission has indicated that talks should continue between Gig Harbor staff and themselves, but has not made any commitments, Mattina added.
The application states that the project would be taken on by the city’s engineering department and be completed by December. A successful bid would have the Port fund a majority of the project. The city would pay about $16,000 for permitting fees, personnel and labor.
The grant was discussed at the Gig Harbor City Council meeting on Jan. 11, and it was greeted with criticism from council member Jim Franich.
Franich said the request could jeopardize future funding, and he added that it was a “slap in the face” to those who have been asking for a multi-purpose dock or a maritime pier.
Council member Derek Young also cast doubt on whether or not the city would ever construct a maritime pier on the scale that has been discussed in the past.
Hunter disagreed that the grant application would interrupt maritime pier talks.
“It doesn’t really impact the maritime pier discussion at all,” he said. “It’s a piece of the puzzle, and I think that it’s an incremental improvement that we can make, not the final improvement, so that we can improve the facility down the line.”
It its application, the city pointed to the 2015 U.S. Open at Chambers Bay in University Place as an opportunity to bring more people, and dollars, into the harbor.
According to the city, many local organizations have made formal requests for commercial access at the location, including the Gig Harbor Historic Waterfront Association, the Gig Harbor Peninsula Area Chamber of Commerce and others.